Strategic Navigation in Vuca Environments
The Role of Relational Capital and New Product Development in Chinese Technology-Based SMEs
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22006748 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yiting Wu (0000-0001-7979-7072, Southeast University, Nanjing, PR China), Y N Wu (Southeast University, corresponding author), Yunqing Liu (0000-0002-4518-1306, Anhui University of Finance and Economics) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2026-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | SAGE Open (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2158-2440 • E-ISSN: 2158-2440 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/21582440261466033 |
| OpenAlex | W7167661453 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 88 |
In the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) global environment, technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face acute resource constraints while striving for innovation-led growth. Drawing on social capital theory and resource-based view, this study investigates how political relational capital (PRC) and business relational capital (BRC) influence growth performance (GP) through the mediating role of new product development (NPD) and the moderating effect of environmental dynamism (ED). Using survey data from 253 Chinese technology-based SMEs, hierarchical regression and Bootstrap confidence interval methods were applied to test the proposed framework. The findings reveal that both PRC and BRC positively affect SME growth, but through distinct mechanisms. BRC exerts a stronger effect on GP via NPD, yet this pathway is significantly weakened under conditions of high environmental dynamism. In contrast, PRC provides a more stable and resilient growth trajectory, as its mediating effect through NPD is less influenced by environmental volatility. These results underscore the critical role of NPD in converting external relational resources into firm outcomes and highlight the conditional value of relational capital under turbulent environments. This research contributes to management theory by differentiating between PRC and BRC, advancing the resource-based view through the integration of NPD as a mediating capability, and contextualizing relational capital within VUCA conditions. Practically, the study offers guidance for SME managers to balance political and business ties and for policymakers to design supportive ecosystems that mitigate environmental uncertainties in emerging markets
Boundary spanning · Dynamism · Emerging markets · Multilevel model · New product development · Relational capital · Resource dependence theory · Resource-Based View · Social capital · Survey data collection · Business Strategy and Innovation · Innovation and Knowledge Management · Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research
Managerial Ties and Firm Performance in a Transition Economy
The Effects of Business and Political Ties on Firm Performance
Social Capital and Value Creation
Loaning scale and government subsidy for promoting green innovation
Guanxi and organizational dynamics
On the contingent value of dynamic capabilities for competitive advantage
Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage
Social Capital, Intellectual Capital, and the Organizational Advantage
Self-Reports in Organizational Research
Small and medium enterprise (SME) competitiveness and employment creation
Toward a new understanding of environmental and financial performance through corporate social responsibility, green innovation, and sustainable development
CEO overseas experience, dynamic capabilities and corporate digital transformation
Macroeconomic factors, working capital management, and firm performance—A static and dynamic panel analysis
Finding pathways to synergistic development of Sustainable Development Goals in China
Corporate Social Innovation in Developing Countries
Relational capital in lending relationships
Whom do nascent ventures search for? Resource scarcity and linkage formation activities during new product development processes
Guanxi, social capital theory and beyond
Face and Favor
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |